Case Number 10
by AdmHawthorne
Summary: Jane is still a newbie to the force after getting a promotion from Vice, and her new partner, Vince Korsak, is trying to show her the ropes while he attempts to get Jane to play nice with the ME. This is Jane's 10th case in Homicide, and it's stranger than most with more dead ends than she likes. Will she manage to solve the case and make nice with the ME? Who knows?
1. Chapter 1

**Characters aren't mine. They belong to Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro, Jan Nash, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Brothers, and other assorted important people. I gain nothing from writing these stories but the fun of doing it. Please don't sue me.**

**Also, M is for language. I'm not writing smut.**

_**OMG READ THIS OR THIS STORY WON'T MAKE SENSE:**_ This is written on the premise that this is the 10th homicide case Jane has ever worked. She's new to this. Korsak is still her partner, and she's just learning who Maura Isles really is. There's a lot of plot about the case in this story, which isn't the norm for me. Also, I threw in my own user name in this story because why the fuck not? The character isn't actually me at all. I'm not half that altruistic, but, if that's not your thing and you don't want to deal, you've been warned, so please don't say you hate it. I know, there are a lot of people who hate that shit. Considering how that character ends up, I suspect the hate readers will probably like my user name in the story anyway.

* * *

><p>The summer heat made everything hot, sticky, and heavy. The air felt like goo Jane forced herself through to make it from the car to the crime scene. With the temperature nearing the 100 degree mark and the bright midday sun beating down onto her jacket clad shoulders, she knew the victim's body was likely riper than she really wanted to deal with.<p>

Her internal musings were confirmed when the scent of a decaying body and the sound buzzing insects smacked her in the face as she entered the courtyard of the large estate. Already, the uniforms were canvasing the area, and Korsak was talking to a younger woman who appeared to be extremely upset.

A quick glance told her the victim's body was situated under a large tree near the center of the courtyard, and the smell told her the body was at least a few days old. As she neared the victim, she could see the start of bloating and a slight green color on the exposed skin of a man who had once been attractive.

She nodded to Korsak as he sidled up next to her. "What've we've got," she asked as she pulled on her gloves and stepped over the police tape.

"Name's Gordan Tessley. Thirty, married, no kids. This is his place, and that lady I was just talking to is his wife." He pulled on his own pair of gloves and awkwardly crossed the tape. "Looks like he took one to the chest. We haven't found any possible weapons yet, and the wife says they don't own a gun." He nodded to the woman he'd been speaking with. "Janet Tessley, 31. They've been married for 8 years. She said she was out of town for the past three days. Already had someone run her alibi while I went back to ask her a few more questions. She checks out."

Jane nodded as she squatted down to look over the body, careful not to disturb anything. "Where's the ME?"

"You know, one of these days, you're going to have to at least call her by her name," her partner chastised. "_Doctor Isles_ is on her way. Her van got caught up in the lunch rush."

"Korsak, she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and tried to hand me a twenty like I was some kind of…"

"Dirty, filthy streetwalker," he offered helpfully.

"Yeah, exactly," she shot back with a nod of her head. "I may have been dressed like a hooker, but I _do not_ give off the vibe that I'm disease infested."

"It was an honest mistake, and you know it." He stood up with a grunt and stepped back from the victim. With a slight turn of his head, he took in a shallow breath and let it out slowly. "Let's go back inside until the doc gets in. It's too hot out here."

Jane stepped back over the tape, dumping her gloves on the way, and followed the older man into the large, wood paneled den that overlooked the courtyard through tall, artfully crafted windows. "Man, I bet those cost more than everything I'm worth."

"Probably," he said with a shrug. "A lot of good it did him, though." He motioned toward the outside. "She's a nice lady, you know?"

"Really? We're going to talk about this right now?" The young detective groaned.

"Yeah because _you_ are in Homicide now, which means _you_ need to get along with the ME _because_," Korsak narrowed his eyes, "she's sometimes the only person that can give us anything to work with. You need to learn to play nice, and Doctor Isles _is _a nice person. Come on, Rizzoli, how many people do you know that would've even bothered to give you money so you could eat, huh?"

The lanky brunette huffed and crossed her arms. "It was embarrassing."

"And being dressed like a prostitute while you argue about being given credit at the PD's café wasn't?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You need to cut her a break. She's new to all of this, and, honestly, she could use some allies. I feel like she gets a bad rap around here because people are afraid to talk to her. 'Queen of the Dead' and crap like that. Just because she works with dead people all the time doesn't mean she is one."

"Sounds like someone has a crush, Korsak," Jane said with a smirk. "I know she's pretty, but don't you think she's a little too young for you?"

"Tease me all you want, Rizzoli, but take my advice here. Make nice with the ME. You _need _her, and she's good at what she does." He glanced out the window. "There she is. Let's go out and see what she says about our vic."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Doc," Korsak greeted as they stepped up to the tape. "Find anything interesting?"<p>

"Everything is interesting to the right person, Detective," the ME replied as she looked over the body. "But, if you're asking if I know the cause of death for your victim, I'm afraid I don't."

"What? What do you mean you don't?" Jane pointed to the body. "There's a huge bullet hole in the guy's chest."

"Yes," Maura calmly replied, "however there are ligature marks around his neck, and," she reached forward to pull the remains of the clothing away from the wound, "there is no apparent bleeding around the gunshot wound, which would lead me to believe the wound was inflicted after the victim was already dead."

The young detective leaned in to look at the wound. "So you're saying someone strangled him and then shot him for good measure?"

"I'm saying exactly what I said, detective," the doctor courtly replied, "which is I don't yet know what killed the victim. I'll have more once I've completed his autopsy."

"Great," Jane stood back up with a huff, "that's very helpful, thanks."

Maura looked up and gave her a bright smile. "I'm happy to help."

For a brief moment, the brunette was fully confused. "I…" She glanced over to her partner who only smirked at her and shrugged. "Yeah… sure." She shook her head.

"So, Doc, when do you think you'll be doing the autopsy? I want to make sure we're there when you do it," Korsak stepped in, still smirking.

"I'm not sure, Detective Korsak, but I will email you once I know what my schedule looks like." Maura stood up in a fluid motion, nothing out of place and everything as pristine as when she'd arrived at the crime scene. "Will that do?"

"Yeah, that'll work. Thanks, Doctor Isles. Jane and I are going to go talk to the vic's wife again. I'll keep an eye out for that email."


	2. Chapter 2

"It was awful," Mrs. Tessley said between sniffles. She wiped at her eyes and took in a stuttering breath. "I was only gone for three days. The last time I saw Gordon, he was sitting in the study working on his laptop."

Korsak pushed the glass of water sitting on the kitchen island between them closer to her. "Do you know what he was working on when you left?"

"Nothing," she said with a slight shake of her. After taking a few sips of water, she added, "He was playing around on some kind of online message board. He's got some weird group of friends he talks to on there, and that other blogging site. I can't… I can't remember the name right now. I'm sorry." She shook her head, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "The internet was never my preferred form of entertainment, but he gets something out it."

"We will need to see his computer. Can we take it with us?" Jane cut in, voice harsh and mind clearly already working on the puzzle with little regard to the pieces she was pushing around to solve it.

Janet tensed, clearly taken aback. "I… I suppose…"

"What my young partner here is trying to say," Korsak smoothly cut in, giving Jane a hard look, "is that it would be very helpful if we could look at his computer. It might give us an idea of why this happened."

"I understand, Detective. Of course you can take his laptop. It's still in the study." Janet paused, thinking. "I believe his password was JaneAlpha110." She pulled open a drawer and began writing. "Here," she pushed the paper across the island. "Like this."

"Janeway?" Jane frowned. "As in Captain Janeway?"

Mrs. Tessley nodded. "Yes, Gordon is… was… He _was_ a Trekkie. He was a rather large Voyager fan. It was his favorite hobby."

"Hobby…" Jane managed to hold her snark in. "Thank you for your time today, Mrs. Tessley. If we think of anything else, we'll be sure to give you a call."

"Would you mind if we had a look around before we go," Korsak asked as they stood.

"No, go right ahead. I have nothing to hide, and, if you can find something to lead you to whomever did this to my husband, I don't want to keep you from it."

* * *

><p>"When she said it was a hobby, I was thinking he'd have a couple of dolls and maybe a magazine or something, but this is insane." Jane stood in the middle of Gordon Tessley's study and turned in a slow circle as she tried to take in all the actions figures that had never been removed from the box, the proudly displayed replicas of Star Trek weapons and technology, and the almost intimidatingly accurate portrayal of a starship's display that filled one wall. "It's like someone threw up everything Star Trek into this one room."<p>

"Everything Star Trek: _Voyager_," Korsak corrected as he stood before a display shelf filled with Voyager's crew. Captain Janeway proudly stood in the middle flanked on either side by her first officer and a blonde Borg. "I watched a couple of episodes." He turned and shrugged. "It wasn't bad, but I kind of felt like the chick playing the captain was hamming it up a little too much for me."

"Because Shanter wasn't a ham," the younger detective snarked back. "Man, just_ look_ at this stuff. This is how I always figured those geeks who live in their parents' basements decorate, not some guy who makes six figures as a heart surgeon."

Korsak shrugged. "Everyone has a hobby."

"We're in luck. His computer is unlocked." She plopped down in the desk chair and opened up a browser. "Looks like he was playing around on a Star Trek message board the last time he was on." She leaned in closer to the screen. "Oh man, his user name was Kats_Man47. That's just… sad. He had over 50,000 posts on here. Where the hell did he find the time?"

"How can you even tell what's going on with that?" The older detective leaned over. "None of this internet stuff makes any sense to me."

"Honestly, it's not my thing, either, but I know enough to get by." She clicked through the message board's history, searching for the victim's last posts. "Looks like he got into a fight with someone about two days ago. Look at this."

_Topic: Janeway Should Have Been Raped at the End of Season 1_

_Sisko4Life: All I'm saying is that the show would have been far more interesting if they'd actually done something new and innovative. A captain that had been raped? That's new. That's innovative. Just think of possible story lines that would go along with something like that! Voy could have created so many deep, meaningful social commentary stories there. It's just such a loss._

_Janeway8472: Fuck off __**Sisko**_**. **_All you ever do is come into this forum to troll. Why did you even start this thread? You know it's going to get locked. You're such a pig._

_MakeItSoap: IN BEFORE THE LOCK! +1 to my post count. WIN AND DING!_

_Janeway8472: Grats, __**MakeItSoap**__._

_Kats_Man47: __**Sisko**__, I'm tired of you constantly listing out every atrocity you feel should have happened to Captain Janeway, yet, when the tables are turned and we suggest the same thing could have been applied to Captain Sisko, you balk. You are nothing more than a womanizer who feels all women should either bend to your will or be crushed to death for being independent of it, and I, for one, am tired of you making my entire gender look bad. _

_You only feel Janeway should have been raped because you wanted to see her power taken away from her __**because**__ she was female… not because she was a captain, not because she was a Starfleet officer, not because she was a human who was accustomed to being the one in charge and, thus, the one in power. You just wanted something horrible to happen to her because she was a woman, and don't try to deny that fact. A quick search of your previous posts would be all anyone needs to show how sick and pathetic you are. You need to seek help. The level of hatred you have for women is disturbing._

_Sisko4Life: Here we go with your holier-than-thou crap again, __**Kat**__. You know what? I bet you're not even a guy. I bet you're some 13 year old girl who just makes a bunch of shit up about who you are because you know being a man who banks gives you more cred than being some puny ass teenaged girl with a lesbian crush on the worst Captain in the fleet._

_Kats_Man47: You caught me. I'm actually a 13 year old who lives at home and is avoiding her homework by wasting my time talking to a brick wall._

_Adm_Hawthorne: Burn. Quick, someone bring some ointment for __**Sisko**__, and maybe some bandages…_

_Kats_Man47: Honestly, __**Adm_H**__, I don't know why we even bother. You and I should both know better now. Once a pig always a pig. Nothing we say is going to change that now._

_Sisko4Life: Once a fake, always a fake._

_Kats_Man47: Did you see that? My pride was dinged. No, wait, that's not a ding. It's a smudge where a bug hit it and died._

_Sisko4Life: Are you calling me a bug? Fuck you, __**Kat**__. I'm 1,000 times the man you'll ever be._

_Kats_Man47: When you manage to save up enough money from your part-time job at GameStop to afford the plane ticket from wherever your dream world is to reality and you crawl out of your parents' basement long enough to get to me, you can come show me how much of a man you actually are, and then maybe we can put this tired old argument to rest._

_Sisko4Life: You motherfucker. How many times do I have to tell you that I was in the US Military? I served a tour in open combat. Listen, shithead, you're not fucking around with some little twink that will bend over backwards and ask you for another. If you insult me one more time, I'm going to find out where you live, go over there, and cut your dick off with my bare hands._

_Adm_Hawthorne: Well, that got violent in a hurry._

_Sisko4Life: Shut up, dyke. No one's talking to you. No one's EVER fucking talking to you._

_Adm_Hawthorne: You're talking to me right now, __**Sisko**__._

_Kats_Man47: Not much of a man, __**Sisko**__, if you have to use those kinds of threats because your weak and insufficient arguments hold no clout nor win any arguments. A man? Hardly. A boy trying too hard at trying to be what he thinks a man is and failing even at that? Yeah, I'd say so._

_Adm_Hawthorne: My dyke handbook has a how-to section on how to be a man. Maybe I can ship it over to __**Sisko**__? Last time he popped up on this forum, he informed me I had "signed the dyke handbook of how to act like a wanna be man while brainwashing all the women into lesbianism," so I know he knows that the section on how to be a man women want is in there. I'm willing to help a brother out. I'm a good dyke like that._

_Kats_Man47: One of the best, really, __**Adm_H**__. I salute you for your dedication to the dyke wanna be man cause._

_Sisko4Life: Fuck you both, and I literally mean fuck you, __**Adm_H**__, because that's what you need. You need a good fucking from a man who knows what he's doing. You need the dyke fucked right out of you._

_Kats_Man47: Charming as always, __**Sisko.**__ How __**are**__ you still single?_

_Sisko4Life: Oh, that is IT, motherfucker. I am coming for you. You got that? Your days are numbered. I'm going to make you regret ever logging into this message board in the first place._

_Moderator_PCard: Okay, people, that's enough. I leave to go to my night class, and this is what I come back to? See? This is why we can't have nice things. Everyone back to your corners. __**Sisko**__, you've already been warned for trolling this forum. Consider yourself banned for the next 24 hours from the board. __**Kat**__, stop feeding the trolls. __**Adm_H**__, you know better. You were a mod for this place once._

_I'm locking this thread. Everyone move along. There's nothing left to see here._

The two detectives took a moment to process. "Wow," Korsak said through a whistle. "I didn't realize Trekkies could be that violent."

"Who knew geeks were that hardcore?" Jane shook her head. "Looks like this Sisko person might be a lead. We should contact this board's owners to see if we can get any contact information for him."

"Yeah, and we should see if we can get this Admiral Hawthorne's info, too. She might be able to tell us something, the moderator, too." He motioned toward the computer. "Grab that, and let's get back to the station."


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm sorry, but could you say that again?" The woman on the other end of the line sounded suspicious.

"I said my name is Detective Vince Korsak and my partner is Detective Jane Rizzoli. We're with the Boston Police Department, and we'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind." Korsak glanced up from the phone sitting in the middle of the conference room table and frowned. The conversation wasn't starting off well.

"You do realize that I live in Florida, don't you?" The woman sounded even more suspicious. "Why would Boston police be calling me?"

"Ma'am, we're in the middle of an investigation, and one of the people we're looking into posted regularly on an online message board we understand you own," Jane answered, already exasperated.

"Look, no offense, but I don't believe you. I'm going to hang up, google Boston PD's number, and ask to be transferred to one of the two of you. If you're legit, we'll talk."

Before either detective could respond, the phone line went dead. "I can't say I blame her," Korsak said as he rubbed at his forehead. "It does sound kind of far-fetched for Boston cops to call someone in Florida about an investigation."

"It's annoying." Jane leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "What kind of people are these Trekkies?"

The phone rang, and Korsak hit the speaker button. "Korsak."

"Detective Korsak, there is a Bonnie Hunt on the line for you," the operator announced.

"Yeah, put her through, thank you." He nodded at his partner. "Ms. Hunt?"

"Well, I'll be damned," she said through the line. "You really are the police."

"That's what we've been trying to tell you…" Jane started in, but was quickly cut off by the older detective.

"Ms. Hunt, do you mind if we ask you a few questions regarding the user who goes by the name Sisko4Life?"

"Jake? Sure, what do you want to know?" She sounded exasperated just talking about the man.

"Whatever you can tell us," Korsak answered patiently.

"Well, quite frankly, he's a dick. His name is Jake Ulman, or at least that what he claims his real name is. He says he was in the Army for a tour and saw some combat, and he claims to live somewhere in New York state where he works construction." She sighed heavily. "He's a huge headache. I've tried banning him at least 6 times from the board, he always manages to find a new proxy server to get back on with. He's nothing if not persistent, the little fucker."

"We understand he and Kats_Man47 didn't get along well," Jane prompted.

"Oil and water," Bonnie replied. "Everything Jake isn't Gordan is. He's a great guy, and he's heart surgeon. He's done a lot of charity work within the Trek community, gone to a lot of cons, and a lot of us have met him in person. I even think Kate Mulgrew at least recognizes his face."

"So he didn't keep an anonymous profile online," Korsak asked.

Bonnie chuckled. "No, not really. He's pretty much an open… wait, what you do you mean 'didn't'?"

"We're sorry, but we can't discuss an open case, and we would appreciate it if you kept the things we're discussing confidential for now," Jane curtly replied, wincing as the words left her mouth.

"Fuck," the woman on the other end of the line mumbled, "Something's happened to Gordan. Tish is going to be devastated. They were buddies."

Korsak cocked an eyebrow. "Tish?"

"Admiral Hawthorne. Her real name is Trisha Gomez, but she goes by Tish. She lives in Texas, and I believe she's still in college." They could hear a keyboard clicking away in the background. "Yeah, she's still in school."

"Do you have any contact information for either one of them that you'd be able to pass along to us," Korsak asked as he picked his pen up.

Bonnie grunted. "Tish was the Voyager mod for a long time, so I have most of her contact info. I'm pretty sure it's still accurate. Jake is a little sketchy. I can give you the email address he uses for the board if that will help. It's an AOL account."

"Anything would be helpful, Ms. Hunt," Jane replied as kindly as she could.

* * *

><p>"Bonnie said you'd be calling me but didn't say what for," a young woman answered with a strong Texas drawl. "I was fixin to meet up with some people for a study group, so, if you could make this quick, I'd appreciate it."<p>

"Wow, they actually talk like that down there," Jane muttered under her breath.

Korsak glared at her. "Thank you, Ms..."

"Tish is fine, Detective," the college student cut in.

"Tish," he echoed. "We were wondering what you could tell me about Gordan Tessley or Jake Ulman."

"Well, for one, Jake's a dick," Tish replied with venom lacing her voice. "Biggest homophobic, xenophobic, chauvinistic asswipe I've ever had the displeasure of running across."

"Tell us how you really feel," Jane said before she could stop herself.

"I'm not _even_ sorry, Detective. The man is a prime example of someone who should never be allowed to breed lest he fuck up the gene pool even more than it already is. Hell, I'm pretty sure he's an easy sell on the idea that devolution is a real thing." Tish growled. "He's a son of a bitch and not worth the lead in the bullet it'd take to kill him." She paused and then added quickly, "Not that I would actually kill him, mind you. It's just a saying, you understand."

"Yeah, we get that," the female detective answered with a chuckle. "What about Gordan?"

"He's a great guy. In fact, I owe him big time. I'm in my senior year, and he played fairy godfather to me and _paid_ for my last semester so I could afford to go to school and be able to do my unpaid, required internship. I owe him more than I could ever repay, but he says he won't take the money back. He told me to pay it forward, and I plan to as soon as I get a job and get at least a little bit on my feet." The young woman took in a deep breath. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to graduate. I owe him my future. He literally saved my ass this year."

"Could you think of anyone who might not feel the same way about him as you do," Korsak asked, doubt slowly creeping into his voice.

"Asswipe," Tish replied without hesitation. "I can think of a half dozen times off the top of my head that Jake's threatened to ship it down to Boston and take Gordan out."

"And no one took Jake's threats seriously?" Jane shook her head in disbelief.

"Nah. Why would we? It's the internet, Detectives. Death threats get tossed around faster than flies to a cow patty. If we took death threats seriously on the board every time it happened, all we'd be doing is sending over complaints to law enforcement." Tish sighed heavily. "Jake finally snapped and actually went after Gordan, didn't he?"

Korsak cleared his throat. "What makes you say that?"

"Gordan hasn't posted in two days, which is weird form him, and he's not answering his emails, either, which is also pretty strange. Jake hasn't posted in three days, which is completely out of character for him, and Boston PD wouldn't be calling a college student in Texas if you just investigating a break in or someone roughing someone up. My granny didn't raise a fool, sir. Gordan is dead, isn't he?"

Jane looked to her partner who nodded in the affirmative. "Yeah, I'm afraid he is."

"Damn," Tish said, voice cracking. "That's the kind of man there needs to be more of." She let out a long breath of air, rattling the phone's speaking. "I'll keep it under my hat until you catch the son of a bitch, and you _will_ catch him."

"We'll try our best, Tish," Korsak gently replied.

"Try? Like hell you'll try," the Texan shot back, voice suddenly steely harsh. "You don't try, Detective. You strap on your sidearm, and you get it done. If there is anything else I can do to help, let me know. Is it alright if I call Janet?"

Korsak glared at the phone, "Yes, but, again, don't…"

Tish grunted. "We'll be talking memorial services and funerals, Detective, not unsolved homicides. They didn't have any kids, and they both treat me like a daughter. I should go. Janet shouldn't be alone right now. I probably need to make some arrangements."

"Thanks, we'll call you if we need anything else," Jane replied, and, with a final bye, the phone went dead. "I keep learning new things from this case. Now I know that Texans really _do_ sound and talk like that."

Korsak chuckled. "The more you know…"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it took AOL three hours to get back to us after we gave them a search warrant. They're a huge internet service provider. Shouldn't they be able to pull that kind of info up in a couple of seconds?" Jane pulled the phone in the conference room closer to her so she could dial. "Figures, they're slow to connect to the internet, so why should anything else they do be fast?"<p>

She dialed the phone number provided by AOL supposedly belonging to Jake Ulman. An older sounding woman answered the phone.

"Yes, I'm calling for Jake Ulman," Jane said in her best professional voice.

"Jakie? Oh, he's not here," the woman replied cordially. "He left town a few days ago to visit some friends in Boston, and I'm not sure when he's coming home. Can I take a message? I'm sure he'll call you back."

Jane glanced to Korsak, clearly somewhat amused this man was still living with his mother. "Does he happen to have a cell phone? I really need to talk to him," she said with urgency.

"No, Jakie's still refusing to get one. You know how he is… on that computer all the time but never wants a cell phone." The woman paused for a moment. "Did you say you were Helen?"

"No, ma'am," Jane replied, rubbing her hand over her face. "Thank you for your help. I'll just try to call back in a few days. Have a good day, now."

"Oh, okay," the woman replied, clearly confused, "you, too. Goodbye."

As the room filled with silence, Jane let her head hit the tabletop. "Now what?"

"Now we go to autopsy," Korsak answered as he pushed his chair back. "I'm hungry. Want to grab something on the way down to munch on while we watch the doc work?"

Jane grimaced. "You're a sick man, Korsak, you know that?"


	4. Chapter 4

"…and these markings are consistent with a thin wire of some kind." Maura pointed to the victim's neck. "See how deep the cut is? It went cleanly through the soft tissue, ending against the Hyoid."

"That takes a lot of strength," Jane said as she peered down at the body. "It'd also cause a lot of blood loss, so," she tuned to Korsak, "where was it?"

"The blood?" He shook his head. "Good question. There should be a spray pattern somewhere."

"Lividity suggests the body was kept in a sitting position for a time before being moved to the crime scene, and," the Medical Examiner straightened to look at the detectives, "based on cell decomposition, I'd estimate our victim died approximately two days ago."

Jane nodded. "What about the gunshot wound?"

"It was definitely inflicted after the victim was killed, though I can't say if was done before or after the body was moved to the crime scene," Maura replied as she reached over to pick up a small container from a nearby try. "We found several pieces of buckshot in the victim." She shook the container, causing the buckshot to rattle. "I'm sending this to the lab for further analysis, though I'm not sure it will be very helpful."

"Crime techs didn't find any buckshot at the scene," Korsak said with a frown. "Means he was shot somewhere else."

"Okay, so where?" Jane stepped back from the body and started to pull off her paper apron and mask. "We're not any closer to figuring out where Jake Ulman is now than we were four hours ago. He could be halfway to Mexico by now."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Detective Rizzoli, but, if I find anything else, I'll be sure to contact you immediately."

"Yeah, you do that. I'm going back upstairs to look over our leads again."

Maura watched the young detective go. "I really do wish I could be of more help."

"I know, Doc. No one's blaming you. This case is just bottlenecked right now, and Jane's new. You know, she's just chomping at the bit to take down all the bad guys, and, sometimes, they get away." Korsak shrugged. "I hate that part of the job, but it happens. If there's not enough evidence, then there's nothing we can do."

The doctor sighed. "Do you think she'll ever forgive me for trying to give her money for food?"

"I think," Korsak answered as he strolled to the door, "is that you two should talk, and I think my partner needs some coffee, some food, and someone who isn't an old foggie like me to talk to." He pushed the door open. "I gotta go, Doc. It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for all of your help."

"Anytime, Detective," she called out to the closing door. As she turned to finish her work, she let his advice to roll around in her mind.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, Detective Rizzoli?" Maura spoke quietly into the muted sound of the homicide office.<p>

"Yeah, what?" Jane didn't bother to look up from her notes.

"I… thought maybe you could use a break," the other woman cautiously replied. "I brought you some coffee."

The word coffee caught the detective's attention. She glanced up as who was speaking to her finally registered. "No rubber gloves this time?"

"The money was likely dirtier than you were, Detective." Maura sat one cup down in front of the brunette and then took a seat in the empty chair stationed beside the Detective's desk. "May we consider this a peace offering?"

"Depends," Jane answered as she took the coffee cup and pulled the lid open. "Did you bring sugar?"

"It's in the bag." Maura held up a small white paper bag. "There's also a protein bar in it if you'd like it."

"Thanks?" Reaching out, Jane took the bag and pulled out the sugar. She poured and stirred as she talked. "Seriously, though, why did you bring me this?"

"Because Detective Korsak said you might like a break and some coffee and food, and I agreed." Maura gave a heavy sigh. "I'm not a terrible person, Detective. I wish there was some way for me to convince you of that."

"What? I don't think you're a terrible person, Doctor Isles. I don't really know you, but you seem like a pretty good person. I mean," the brunette shrugged, "not everyone would try to pay for a hooker to get a hot meal. That takes a special kind of person. You know, the good kind."

Maura tilted her head in concern. "So you don't think poorly of me?"

"No, I don't," Jane answered, taking a sip of her coffee. "This coffee is… amazing. It might be the best coffee I've ever had. Where did it come from?"

"There's a coffee shop down the street I prefer to go to for my coffee. I'm glad you like." The doctor smiled.

"It's great." The brunette took another sip. "But my stomach is going to kick it back if I don't eat something." She eagerly reached into the bag for the food. "I thought you said you got a bar."

"I did." Frowning, Maura took the bag and opened it. "Oh, they must have forgotten to put it in the bag." She frowned more. "I'm sorry, Detective. You know, it _is_ getting late, and I'm a bit peckish myself. Perhaps you and I could go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, maybe. I've been staring at this stuff so long my eyes are starting to cross, and it'd be nice to eat dinner with someone other than Letterman." Jane started to put her desk in order for the night. "Got any place in mind?"

"No. I'm not very familiar with this area of Boston, and I rarely eat away from home." Maura stood, following Jane to the doors. "What do you suggest?"

They stopped at the elevators, and Jane turned with a smirk to the other woman. She sipped her coffee for a moment while she appraised her dinner companion. "Ever been to the Dirty Robber?"

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? Worth it to finish? If you think so, drop me a review. Thanks for reading. ~Liv<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

"So where do you want to sit?" Jane made a sweeping motion across the dark, gritty room.

"Oh, I…" Maura's wide eyes took in the atmosphere, flicking from one open place to another as she attempted to find an acceptable place to sit down. Her eyes landed on an empty booth near the back that seemed to be cleaner than the rest. At the very least, there weren't crumbs on the table. "What about over there," she asked over the quiet murmur of the bar.

"Yeah, that'll work," the detective said with a nod as she headed to the seat, passing the bar on the way.

"Yo, Rizzoli! Decided to come hang out with us little people or something," a boisterous voice cut in over the crowd.

Jane smirked at a rotund man sitting at the bar. "Can it, Zebrowski. You're just upset I'm not wearing that hooker getup anymore."

"Hey, a man's gotta have a little something to get to sleep on," he said with a laugh.

She walked over to the bar, Maura quietly following. Jane gave his shoulder a nudge with her forearm. "Wife kick you out for being an ass yet?"

"Nah, she knows no one else could do what I do for her," he answered with a smirk.

"What's that?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Drink all the beer and pass out in their underwear on the couch?"

"Exactly!" He laughed. "Seriously, though, how's the new gig? Word is that you got a new case and got stuck working with the Queen of the Dead." He pulled a face. "Man, that chick is weird. Have you seen her? She's always walking around in all those fancy clothes with her nose stuck up, and the way she talks. It's like she's a computer or something."

"Yeah, actually, I am, and," Jane's face shut down, going from friendly to hostile in a second as she stepped aside to fully reveal the other woman, "we're having dinner tonight. God, Zebrowski, you're such a bastard sometimes."

"Oh… hey Doc…" He pushed down an awkward swallow of beer. "Didn't see you there."

"It's quite alright Officer Zebrowski." Maura remained demure. "I understand many people find my profession an odd and unsettling one, and I'm equally aware of my social… deficiencies." She turned to the other woman with an apologetic look. "It was kind of you to agree to have dinner with me, Detective Rizzoli, but I'd rather not cause any issues between you and your friend." She took a small step back toward the door. "I'll just go. I'm sorry for any trouble…"

"What? No!" Jane grabbed the doctor by the elbow. "You're not causing trouble. Zebrowski is." Turning to the other cop, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Now apologize to the lady for being an asshat before I call your wife and tell her you're here and not working late on the beat."

He grunted uncomfortably. "Sorry for being an asshat, Doc," he muttered from behind his beer bottle.

"Come on, Maura." Jane gave the other woman's elbow a pull. "Let's go sit down."

* * *

><p>"You really didn't have to do that, Detective," Maura said as they slid into the booth. "I know I can make people uncomfortable."<p>

"Call me Jane," the brunette offered as she handed over one of the menus sitting at the booth. "And people suck. You can't let them walk all over you. If you do, they'll just keep doing it until there's nothing left."

The doctor grimaced as her hand made contact with a stick substance on the cover. "I just don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble."

"You didn't." Jane nodded toward the bar. "_He_ did. The problem with guys like Zebrowski is they have a small dick."

"How do you know? Does he have some kind of dwarfism?" Maura tilted her head in thought.

"Uh… no, that's not what I meant. I don't _actually_ know his penis size." The detective ran a hand over her face. "Look, are you for real?"

Again, Maura tilted her head in thought. "What do you mean? If you're asking if I exist within the same space and time as you, then, yes, I believe I do. However, a person's perception of reality differs from another's, and, though I _could_ be very real to you, it is entirely possible that I am a figment of someone else's thoughts, depending on how literal you take the interpretation of…"

"Oh my god, you _are_ for real." Jane groaned. "Do you always take things so literally?"

"I… have a difficult time understand sarcasm," Maura shamefully admitted. "And pop culture references …and I don't catch a lot of common colloquialisms …and," she sighed, "Honestly, I've always been a rather socially awkward being."

"Yeah, I'm getting that." They ordered as Jane considered the other woman, and, once the waitress skirted off to fetch their drinks, a beer for Jane and water for Maura, she asked, "Doesn't it bother you that they call you the Queen of the Dead?"

"No," Maura replied with the shrug. "I understand they've given me the moniker to be hurtful, but the truth is I understand the dead much more than I understand the living. I can tell how a person lived their life through the story that unfolds as I examine them, and the dead that cross my table _need_ to have their stories told, Detec… Jane. The dead cannot speak for themselves. They can't tell us who hurt them or why. _We_ have to do it for them, and _I_ am their voice. I speak for the dead, Detective, and, if that makes me the Queen of the Dead in the eyes of the department, then so be it. It doesn't matter. What matter is that someone has given the dead a voice."

Jane slowly blinked, taking in the passion and compassion radiating from the other woman. "Wow," she said quietly, "that's really noble."

"I mean what say. I'm not doing this job because I'm looking for accolades, praise, or acceptance. I'm here because I feel as though I was called to it." Maura leaned back, thanking the waitress for their drinks and meals. "They call you The Bitch. Does that bother you?"

"Nope," the brunette answered around a mouthful of burger. "I am most of the time." She swallowed it down with a mouthful of beer. "Gotta be. If you're anything but a bitch, they don't give you any respect. They think that because you're a woman, you're a pushover, unless you're higher up than a beat cop. Then they think you slept your way there. The only way to be taken seriously by these guys is to be twice as good, three times as fast, and the bitch from hell." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm the oldest of three. I've got two younger brothers, so being a bitch to a bunch of guys who are trying to find my weak spots comes easy to me."

"I don't have any siblings," the doctor offered as she poked around her wilted salad.

"You're an only child?" Jane snorted. "Must be nice. My brothers are a pain in the ass. I always wanted to be an only child."

"I always wanted siblings," Maura countered, a sad note to her voice. "It can get very isolating when you're the only child in a room of adults."

"Yeah, I could see that." Jane chewed through a few more bites of burger, and the silence started to become awkward. "So," she pushed through the silence, "where do you live, Maura?"

The other woman winced slightly. "Not too far away by car." She put her fork down with a sigh. "I understand there is an Officer Rizzoli on the force. Is there a relation?"

"That's my younger brother, Frankie. He always had to do everything I did, so, when I joined the force, he did, too."

"Oh," Maura nodded, taking a sip of her water. She made eye contact with the waitress, who came over with the check in hand. "I'll get this, Jane. It's the least I can do for earlier."

"No way. I did that because it was the right thing to do, not because I wanted a free handout." Jane leaned over to make a grab for the receipt, but Maura was quicker, pulling it away.

"I insist," the doctor emphatically said as she pulled money from her wallet and dropped it and the receipt on the table.

The brunette grumbled. "Fine, but we're doing this again, and, next time, _I'm_ paying."

"We are?" Maura looked genuinely surprised. "You'd like to spend time outside of work with me again?"

"Why wouldn't I," Jane asked as they scooted out of their booth.

"Well, most people find me a little too odd to be around for long periods of time," Maura replied hesitantly.

"Whatever. Those people are losers." Jane held the door open as they walked outside. "You need a lift home?"

Maura gave a small, appreciative smile. "No, but thank you for asking, and thank you for your company tonight, Jane."

The taller woman returned the smile with a small, warm one of her own. "Goodnight, Maura. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews. I'm going to try to finish this story this weekend because I don't know when I'll have the time after. <strong>

**Also, to the anon who has decided to make it their life's work to troll the fuck out of me, I would like to remind you I historically don't bother with you, but it's nice to know you still lack enough of a life or real job to jump on at all hours of the day and night to send me nasty messages designed to insult me (poorly, may I add). It's a good feeling to know somethings haven't changed and to know this fandom has managed to retain the likes of you. Keeps things feeling warm, cozy, and homelike.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Doing some light reading this morning?" Korsak stepped behind his young partner to read over her shoulder while he sipped at his coffee.

"Something like that." Jane leaned back, pointing at her screen. "I thought we might be able to figure out where Ulman might be hiding out based on what he was posting online before he dropped off the face of the planet." She let out a long huff. "So far, what I've learned is that everyone who said he was an asshole was right. The guy's a prick."

"He's also a Ranger," her partner added as he held out a folder. "Aren't search warrants a wonderful thing? So much better than threatening administrative assistants with bodily harm."

She grabbed the folder and shot him a hard look. "We're investigating a murder. We should be able to access another state's driver's license information when we're trying to track down and suspect."

"And I'm sure the nice sergeant we were speaking with would have helped us out if you hadn't started browbeating him when he inserted a little protocol into the situation." The older detective slowly shook his head. "A little tact goes a long way Rizzoli. I bet you also think the US Military should just divulge whatever they've got on our suspect if we ask them to, right?" He chuckled at her. "It doesn't work that way."

"Obviously." With an eye roll, she turned her attention to the folder. "He really was an Army Rangers? I wouldn't have believe it if I didn't see the actual records. Online the guy talks about killing people so much that it's hard to believe he actually did." She frowned deeply as she read the report. "Says here he was honorably discharged, so I guess he at least served his country well." She tossed the folder onto her desk and turned to glance up at her partner. "Hey, Korsak, how easy is it to get fiberwire? For civilians, I mean?"

"Fiberwire?" He shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"I have," a bright voice called out as heels clicked through the homicide department. With a bounce to her step, Doctor Isles stopped at the Jane's desk, placing a cup of coffee and a bag down to free up one of her hands. "It's commonly used for surgical procedures. Anyone with access to surgical medical supplies could obtain some." She sipped her own coffee. "It's also commonly used in women's support garments, jewelry, and some keychains."

"So, basically, you could go to any arts and craft store and pick some up?" Jane rubbed at her forehead. "Maura, could fiberwire be the weapon used on our vic?"

The doctor considered it for a moment. "Yes, it's possible, though, if it was used, there was no residue left from the wire. Of course, it could have just as easily been new, clean bailing wire, or…"

"But it _could_ be fiberwire," the young detective cut in.

"Yes," Maura nodded, her mouth ticking down for a moment at being interrupted. "It could. Do you have a reason to think it might be fiberwire?"

"The guy we're looking for was a Ranger." Jane took a sip to test her coffee, winced, and continued to add sugar. "I had a buddy from high school who joined the Rangers. They're super elite and highly trained. The best of the best. He told me one time that his unit carried fiberwire around with them in case they needed to quietly kill someone at close range and they didn't have any other weapons or their other weapons wouldn't have worked."

"Well, I suppose that makes some degree of logical sense. If enough force is applied quickly enough, the victim wouldn't be able to make very much vocal sound if any at all. However, it is a human's natural inclination to fight to live, and strangulation does take a long time, relatively speaking." Maura frowned, clearly working through her thoughts. "A thin enough piece of the wire _could_ cut through the soft tissue as was done to our victim."

"The guy's a menace," Jane turned back to her screen. "We need to find him before someone else becomes his target. The stuff we read the other day, Korsak, is just the tip of this man's fucked up universe." She scrolled down the screen. "Last month on that message board, he and Tish had a four page back-and-forth that, in real life, would've ended up with someone in the hospital. I'm surprise he didn't crack and go after her then."

"Maybe she was too far away?" Korsak peered at the screen. "She's in Texas, and Ulman lives with his mom in New York. He probably couldn't afford to travel down there to take her out."

"That's a lot of assumptions, Detective Korsak," Maura cut in. "Do you know why he's living with his mother?"

"According to what we've learned, he's been jobless for two years," he answered with a nod to the folder on Jane's desk. "My guess would be he's living with Mom because he's go nowhere else to go."

"So we've got a guy," Jane was mostly talking to herself, putting the puzzle together as best she could, "who has serious anger management problems, spends most of this time online trolling a message board full of people who are ideologically opposite of anything he seems to agree with, and he has nothing to do all day but think about all the online people that have ticked him off." She tapped the side of her cup with her finger. "Even better, he's a highly trained soldier who can kill quietly, efficiently, and knows how to navigate through just about any terrain without being tracked or found." She threw her hands up in the air. "We're looking for a fucking ghost." She took another sip of her coffee. "Oh, and thanks for the coffee, Maura. It's really good."

"Of course, Jane." The doctor looked between the two frustrated detectives. "I don't mean to pry, but is there anything I can do to help? I've studied human behavior quite a bit. Perhaps I could lend a hand in profiling this man?"

"Thanks, Doc, but we don't have much to go on. We've talked to a few people, but they don't know more than we do…" Korsak trailed off as he leaned back down to get a better look at Jane's screen. "Scroll back up to that latest topic thing. What does it say?"

_In Memorial of Gordan Tessley, aka Kats_Man47_

_Admiral_Hawthorne: As I'm sure many of you have heard either via the message board, the Trek news site, or maybe from your local stations, we've lost __**Kat**__. He unexpectedly passed away a few days ago._

_Janet is holding up as best she can given everything she's recently gone through. I know many of you have been sending her messages or trying to call. She's just very upset right now. She's not avoiding you so much as she is grieving. Give her some time, okay?_

_The memorial service will be Saturday. There will not be a viewing nor a graveside ceremony. Janet's asked that, in lieu of sending flowers, you take the money and pay it forward like __**Kat**__ always did. You'd be surprised what it can mean to a person if all you do is one simple act, like buying them a cup of coffee._

_It's like Gordan always said, all it takes is one little gesture of good will to make a world of difference._

_For those of you who would like to attend the service and the wake after, message me privately, and I will give you details. I'll be with Janet until Sunday. Classes and internships still press on, and I'm not going to let Gordan's gift to me go to waste. He wouldn't have wanted that._

_If you need anything or you need to get something to Janet, contact me, and I'll do my best to help._

_Thanks, everyone. Your support during this time has meant the world to Janet._

_Huntingdon: He was such a good man. We're all going to miss him._

_Owner_Bonnie: Good post, Tish, and thank you for the update. Please keep us posted if anything else comes up, and please let Janet know she's in my prayers._

_John_Allen: It's always the good ones that go early. So sad…_

_KittyPitty: WHAT! No! No, I can't believe it. How did he die? He wasn't that old._

_Admiral_Hawthorne: It's… complicated, __**Kitty**__, and it doesn't matter. The fact is, he's gone. I'll keep everyone updated. Please pin and lock this thread, __**Bonnie**__. I'd hate to see it trolled._

_Owner_Bonnie: Already done._

"Crap." Jane slammed her hand down on the edge of her desk. "This is bad, Korsak."

"She's a target," he agreed, reaching to drop his coffee into the trash. "We need to get over there."

Maura moved anxiously, trying to stay out of the way of the detectives as they began to quickly move to pull their things together to leave. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, you can hope Ulman doesn't have access to the internet right now," Jane replied as she darted toward the exit.

"We need to tell Lieutenant," Korsak called out. "This could all go downhill in a hurry. We need back up, possibly SWAT. We need a plan, Rizzoli. We can't just roll in there with our guns halfcocked."

"But she's in danger, Korsak. They _all_ are. What if this guy's got his hands on a sniper rifle? He could figure out where they're all meeting and pick them off one by one." Jane grunted in frustration. "We should at least call them, warn them."

"No. If he's managed to tap their phone line or can hear their conversations, it'd just make things worse. Look, Jane, I want to protect them as much as you do, but we need to be by the book on this. Ulman is potentially extremely dangerous." Korsak nudged her toward the lieutenant's office. "There's a reason we do things in a specific way. It keeps more people safe."

"Fine," the younger detective muttered as they headed for their supervisor's office to brief him.

* * *

><p>"You <em>do <em>realize," Tish said with irritation evident in her voice and body language, "that me wearing a bullet proof vest isn't going to do a lick of good if he gets in a head shot, don't you?"

"Some protection is better than no protection at all," Korsak replied from where he stood facing the wall of one of the large bedrooms in the Tessley's home. "How's that coming along, Jane?"

"Shitty. These things are custom fit, Korsak," she said between grunts as she and Tish attempted to settle the vest meant for a less busty woman onto Tish's frame. "And she's right."

"I feel like a damned turtle. How in the hell do you wear these things all the time?" Tish grunted again as Jane pulled on strap to tighten the side. "Do you really thing he's going to try to take a shot at some of us?"

"It's possible, and we'd rather not take any chances," Korsak answered in a muffled voice.

"Hell, I knew the boy was crazy. I didn't realize he was batshit." The Texan gave another heavy sigh. "Are you done trying to crack my ribcage, detective?"

"This is probably as good as it's going to get." Jane stood, dusting her knees off as she moved. "Put on your shirt and jacket. Let's see how it looks."

Tish complied, putting on the oversized pieces. Standing in front of the mirror, she groaned. "I spent 23 years growing those, and no one would believe I have them right about now."

"What?" The older detective called out.

"You can turn around, Korsak," Tish answered and waited until he was looking at her before she pointed to her chest. "I was referring to my natural shelf here."

"Oh," he replied, a slight blush hitting his cheeks.

Jane chuckled. "Never had any, so I can't say I can sympathize."

"Don't get any, either. They're a pain, literally, and they get in the way of just about everything. Damned things aren't even decent water floatation devices." Tish shifted uncomfortably, grunting when the sound of Velcro moving echoed through the room. "Let's get this over with. I'm going to have to mingle with the people who come to this thing. Janet's in no shape to do it."

"We've got people stationed at the exits, plan clothes in among the people at the hotel, and you're going to be escorted there and back here." Jane crossed her arms and looked over the younger woman one last time. "You'll be fine."

"Well, whether I will or I won't doesn't matter now." Tish grabbed her phone and a small binder. "If it winds up that I'm not, I hope whatever happens to me makes you catch the bastard that much quicker."

"Don't be a martyr," Korsak warned.

"I have no intention of it, detective, but you got to be a little pragmatic about all of this." The college student shrugged. "I'm going into teaching. If I wasn't pragmatic, I don't think I'd be a very good teacher, now would I?"

"Probably not," Jane answered. "Let's go or we'll be late."


	7. Chapter 7

"Man, this is depressing," Jane whispered to Korsak as they followed Tish through the crowd of people in the small convention room. "I can't believe this many people are here. It's like the guy was a celebrity or something."

"Well, to his group of people, I guess he was," her partner answered, never taking his eyes off Tish as she stopped every few paces to greet someone or thank one of the hotel staff for their service and praise their good work on the event.

In their ear, they could hear the radio chatter of the plain clothes mixed into the crowd calling out all clears every few minutes. The uniforms at the door looked attentive, but Jane's gut told her something was still off. "Are we sure we have enough coverage?"

"We're as good as we're going to get," Korsak replied with a sigh. "Doesn't matter how many times you ask me, Rizzoli, my answer isn't going to change. You can plan for a lot, but you can't plan for everything."

"Yeah, I know, and that's what worries me." She glanced around the room, and her eyes landed on Janet Tessley who was seated at a large, round table at the front of the room near a small stage. Several people had gathered around her clearly offering their condolences, and many more were politely standing to the side to wait their turn.

Tish was making a slow beeline to Janet, and Jane's gut screamed something was about to happen.

Everything sped up and slowed down simultaneously. One of the waiters who was carrying a large serving platter stepped into Tish's path just as she neared Janet's table. He turned away from the grieving widow exposing a handgun under the platter. Jane screamed gun, the police in the room rushed him, and Tish pitched forward in the confusion of motion, landing awkwardly on top of the barrel as the weapon discharged, ripping a bullet through Tish's midsection and silencing the room for a split second before people began to panic.

Tish groaned and seemed to push herself forward, landing squarely atop the waiter, pinning him to the ground under her. Jane rushed forward, intent on helping Tish with Korsak on her heels intent on detaining the waiter.

The younger woman made a pained sound as Jane pulled her off the assailant. There were no words, just a look in the Texan's eyes asking a question she couldn't verbalize. From behind her, she could hear Korsak confirm it was Ulman, and she nodded yes.

In five minutes' time, it was over for both Ulman and Tish.

"Rizzoli," Korsak placed a hand on his partner's shoulder as she crouched by Tish's body, "the paramedics are on their way. We should get going. Ulman is being transported to the station, and we need to question him. The uniforms can watch over the body."

"He shaved his head and put on a pair of glasses, Korsak. It's not like he had plastic surgery. How the fuck did he get in here?" She was starting to move from shocked to angry. Turning to him with fiery eyes, she asked him again, "How? We checked _everyone_. Where the hell did he come from?" Her anger was taking over. She seethed injustice and righteous indignation. "This," she pointed to Tish, "shouldn't have happened. There's no fucking reason this should have happened."

"Most of the time," he answered her gently, sympathy in his eyes, "there's not." He shrugged, letting the weariness he felt everyday show for a just a moment on his face. "That's the thing you learn about this job, Jane. Very few killings make sense; they don't have a real reason. People get all messed up in the head, and they justify what they're doing, but…" He shook his head. "This is a hard gig, and not everyone can do it. If you take everything personally, you'll burn yourself out. You have to step back and look at the big picture."

"And what would that be?" She glanced around the room to find the non-law enforcement people lined around the perimeter taking their turns giving statements. "That at least he only killed two people instead of 3 or 4?"

"Yeah," Korsak replied with a nod. "Sometimes that's all you've got."

Swallowing down the bile, Jane rubbed at her forehead as she stepped away from the body. "Let's go, Korsak. I want to put this guy away."

* * *

><p>"I've got to go do something before we go in and talk to Ulman." Jane pushed herself out of the car, not bothering to really hear a reply as she walked to the elevators. On the way down to the basement, her mind replayed the events. Could she have stopped it? Was there more they could have done to protect everyone at the event? If he hadn't shown there, how would they have found him otherwise? Why did he attack in the middle of a crowd? Had he planned to shoot his way back out? Or had he planned to leave at all?<p>

The doors quietly slid open, and she stepped into the cool silence of the morgue. She had a request to make, and she needed a few moments to gather her thoughts before she faced off with Ulman. A quick visit as opposed to an email took care of both needs.

"Maura?" She stepped into the ME's office. "I thought you'd be out on the last call."

"I don't attend every crime scene," the doctor replied, eyes on some paperwork on her desk she was trying to finish up. "In this case, my expertise wasn't needed, so I sent one of my other medical examiners out to take care of the situation and gain much needed field experience."

"Oh, that makes sense." Jane shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. She'd planned to leave a note, and now she felt awkward. "So, listen, about that. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

The doctor looked up with a smile. "Of course, Jane, what can I… your clothes are bloody."

"Yeah," the detective glanced down at her blood stained suit. "I wasn't right behind Tish, but I was close enough." She swallowed, waving the topic off. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd tell me when you send her back home to Texas. I want to escort her at least to the airport."

"I can if you'd like," Maura answered as she stood to walk over to the other woman.

"Thanks. I need to get back up stairs. Our suspect is waiting to be questioned." The younger woman let out a mirthless chuckle. "It's ridiculous to treat him like an innocent when a room full of people watched him gun a woman down in cold blood, isn't it?"

"I could see where that would be frustrating," the doctor replied with a nod. "Jane, have you anything else to change into?"

The brunette absently blinked for a moment before answering. "I… yeah. Yeah, I've got an extra suit in my locker."

"Come on," the other woman grabbed the detective's elbow to gently steer her back to the elevators, "I think you should change."

"But Ulman…"

"Can wait. You have 24 hours to question him, and he's not going anywhere. You have plenty of time to shower and change before you interview him." Maura hit the call button as her hand tightened around Jane's elbow. "Besides, it is quite possible that you entering into the room still splattered with the victim's blood will give your suspect satisfaction at what he considers to be a job he's done well. Studies have suggested those who kill and enjoy the experience also enjoy the evidence of their misdeeds, and, although I have no idea if this particular individual feels any sort of satisfact…"

"If I agree to take a shower, will you stop?" Jane stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to take them to the locker rooms.

"Yes," Maura replied with satisfied smirk.

The brunette grunted. "Fine. I'll shower, and then I'll go nail that bastard to the wall."

"Thank you, Jane."

"Yeah, sure… whatever."


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of the shower hitting the tiles echoed through the women's locker room as Jane washed off. Maura patiently sat on a bench just around the corner, trying to wince at the questionable cleanliness of the towel she'd place between herself and the wood as she continued to listen to Jane talk over the sound of the pounding water.

"…and, I just don't understand it," the detective said with a growl. "She was wearing a vest. I mean, yeah, it wasn't fitted, but it was there. It's like," she shut the water off. "I don't know, the most unlikely thing that could've happened, you know? The bullet hit her _under_ the bottom of the vest." As she wrapped the towel around herself, she stepped out into the dressing area, looking down at the doctor as she moved. "What are the odds?"

Maura blinked for a moment. "Well," she answered thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. There are really too many variables at work to make even a close estimate of what the odds are." At the other woman's disgruntled expression, she added quickly, "But I do see your point. It seemed improbable, and I'm very sorry to know it happened."

"Yeah," the brunette answered with a grunt as she opened her locker, "me, too." With a shake of her head, she began to pull her clean clothes out. "It didn't take her long to bleed out."

The doctor scowled, clearly not sure where Jane was going with her thoughts. "Without seeing the autopsy results, I wouldn't be able to explain the specifics of why."

The detective snorted. "I must be getting used to you because I knew you were going to say that." Pulling out her duffle bag, she dropped on the bench next to the other woman. "You… uh, you don't have to stay and keep my company, you know? I'm just going to put some clothes on and go back upstairs."

"I know," Maura replied with a small, warm smile. "I thought you might want the company, but I can leave if me sitting here while you dress makes you uncomfortable, Or," she offered politely, "if you'd like I can do what I did when you undressed and turn to look at the wall. Which would you prefer?"

"Well, if you're not leaving, at least turn around." Jane pointed at the far wall as the other woman turned to face it. "It always weirds me out when there are other people in here changing."

"I'm sorry, Jane. I don't mean to 'weird you out.' I just wanted to… I can go." The doctor stood, back ramrod straight, and began to quickly make her way to the door.

"Hey, yo!" The other woman called out, "Maura, come on! That's not what I meant. Come back." A relieved sigh escaped her as she watched the doctor stop just short of exiting. "Come sit back down. I have most of my clothes on now anyway, so we're good."

Cautiously, Maura returned to her bench but keep her eyes averted. "You know have to tell me to stay if you'd prefer I go, Jane. I don't want your pity."

"What pity?" Jane threw her duffle bag and dirty clothes back into her locker, slamming the door shut. "I don't do pity, and, while we're on the subject, I don't talk to people I don't want to talk to, and I sure as hell don't talk to people who weird me out."

Slowly, Maura looked up at the taller woman. "But you're talking to me."

Jane nodded, pointing at the other woman as she gave a smirk. "Exactly." Motioning toward the door, she gave the doctor a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, I've got a bad guy to nail to the wall."

* * *

><p>"You could've at least let me talk," Jane sulked as she sat down in her chair.<p>

"Hey, you're still learning, and the guy hates women. He wasn't going to talk to you, Jane. He needed a buddy, so I gave him one." Korsak stopped in front of her desk, dropping a book down atop her stack of paper work. "Read that."

"Homework? What is this? High school?" She picked the old, worn book up to look it over.

"It's a good read on how to interrogate suspects, and it focuses a lot on murder suspects. My first homicide partner gave it to me, so now I'm giving it to you." He gave her a pointed look. "Make yourself useful, Rizzoli, and get a little more educated on stuff."

"Thanks?" She shook her head but opened the book. "I guess I could look through it."

"That's all I ask," Korsak replied with a hand held up in a show of innocence.

"Oh, hey, I also did that other thing you asked me to do," Jane said with almost too much casualness.

Korsak raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to stop calling your brother 'Little Blue Buddy' when he's on the clock?"

"Nah, maybe later." She winked at him. "I made nice with the ME."

"Good!" He smiled. "Bout time. You two friends now?"

"No," the younger detective replied with a shrug, "but maybe later."

"Baby steps, Rizzoli." He said with a chuckle as he headed for his desk. "Just take one step at a time toward actin like a civilized human being."

She shrugged as she put the book down to start on her reports. "Maybe later."


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, you got a sec?" Jane leaned into the ME's office door, knocking softly as she spoke.

"Of course, Detective," Maura offered a seat with a gesture as she smiled warmly at the other woman. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to swing by and let you know the guy finally gave it up." The brunette plopped unceremoniously down into the offered chair. "Said he was on a mission to show every asshole who ever tried to say he was wrong how wrong they were." She shook his head. "I don't get what makes people like that tick."

"A question as old as time itself," the doctor answered in a muted tone. "Thank you for telling me. I'm glad he'll be prosecuted."

"I told you I was going to nail the guy." Jane raised an eyebrow. "There's no way I'm letting a guy like that walk."

The older woman gave a small tilt of her head. "I believe in your determination, Jane."

"Thanks." For a long moment, they fell silent. Unsure of what to say next, and uncomfortable just leaving, the detective fidgeted in her chair while the doctor glanced down at the work on her desk.

Finally, Maura looked up shyly, asking in an uncertain voice, "Jane, is it true you call your brother Little Blue Buddy?"

The brunette snorted, smirking. "Yeah. He's little. He's dressed in blue, and he wants to be my buddy." She shrugged. "It fits."

"That's… well, that's not very nice." As soon as the words left the doctor's mouth, she froze, clearly worried she'd offended the other woman.

Much to her relief, Jane only chuckled. "He's my younger brother. I don't have to be nice. It's in the handbook."

Tilting her head in confusion, Maura squinted her eyes at her guest. "What handbook?"

"The Handbook of Things It's Okay to Do to Your Younger Siblings." The smirk widened. "You get it as soon as you become a big sister."

"I feel you're teasing me," the doctor replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Maybe a little, but it's so easy!" Jane pushed up, moving to sit on the front edge of the chair, suddenly full of energy. "Besides, Frankie's a big boy. He can deal with it, and, if the worst thing he gets called is Little Blue Buddy while he's on the job, then he's having a pretty good day." She shrugged at the raised eyebrow directed at her. "He knows I tease him because I tolerate him."

Maura's eyes narrowed again. "Again, Detective, I can't help but feel you're teasing me."

"Well, maybe," Jane answered with a grin. "Listen, it's late. You want to haul it out of here and grab something to eat?"

"Yes, but not at that place we went last time." The doctor started to shutdown her area, carefully arranging things to be ready for the following day.

"What?! Why not? What's wrong with the Robber?" Jane stood, helping Maura into her coat before they moved toward the elevators.

"It's filthy," Maura shot back looking abashed. "I don't think the seats of the booth we sat in had been cleaned in months."

Jane shrugged. "Maybe years?"

"We're going to the bistro a few blocks down." The elevator doors slowly opened. "And I am paying. No arguments. It's my turn."

"Well, when you put it that way, it's not like I can say no." The detective gave an exaggerated huff. "Are you always this bossy?"

"Are you always this childish?" Maura smirked when she got another huff in response. "It'll be good for you, Jane. They have healthier options there. Perhaps you could eat something green?"

"Okay, first of all, you don't know me well enough to tell me what I should be eating." Jane held the elevator doors open as Maura exited. "Second of all, I _do_ eat green things."

"Really?" Maura called over her shoulder as they rounded to the exit.

"Yes, really," the brunette shot back. "There's always a piece of lettuce and some pickles on my burger, and lettuce and pickles are green, thank you very much."

"It's not the same thing, and you know it," the doctor countered with a chuckle. "Would you like to carpool?"

"Sure," Jane reached into her pocket to grab her keys while she followed the doctor. "Do you want to take my car, or do you want to…" She fumbled over her words are she watched Maura walk up to the Mercedes Jane always drooled over on her way into work each morning. With casual ease, the other woman opened the driver's side door and motioned for the detective to slide into the other side, which she did with some haste. "Holy crap, Maura. This is yours?"

Maura's face tightened with some unspoken stress and uncertainty. "Yes." She turned the car on, and it purred to life. "I've noticed some of the police officers in the department have stopped referring to me as the Queen of the Dead. Do I have you to thank for that?"

Jane awkwardly placed her hands in her lap, suddenly very aware she was out of her comfort zone and afraid she'd touch the soft, Italian leather seats and forever tarnish them with her blue collarness. "Uh… maybe?" She shifted uncomfortably in the passenger's seat. "I might have said something to the assholes I hear calling you that when I'm in earshot."

"That's very chivalrous of you, Jane, but you don't have to do that." The older woman turned the wheel, smoothly pulling into the lineup for valet parking at the bistro. "As I told you before, it doesn't really bother me."

"Yeah, well, it should." Jane fidgeted, trying not to touch anything but wanting to touch everything because she was sure she might not get the chance to sit in something so expensive again. "They need to show you at least some professional respect. Without you, our jobs would be hella hard."

"But not impossible, though the lack of evidence would make me question the accuracy of convictions even more so than I do now." Maura waved her hand to dismiss the conversation as she turned to step out of the car to allow the valet to slide into her seat.

Jane clumsily followed, grunting when she made a grab for the door handle only to have the door open for her and another valet offer his hand to help her up. She glared at him and stood on her own grumbling a thanks for opening the door.

They made their way to the front door of the bistro, which, to Jane, seemed more in line with a fancy upscale restaurant than a small, quaint little place that had long French names for sandwiches. "Hey, Maura, are you sure I'm dressed for this place?"

"Of course you are," the doctor replied, giving a small, reassuring smile. "I hope you'll like the food here. This is one of my favorite places to dine out."

She stepped inside ahead of the detective and was warmly greeted by the maître d'. "Maura! It's so good to see you again," the young, well groomed man said as he stepped away from the podium to greet her with a hug.

"Hello, Jason. It's good to see you. How is Ramon?" She gave him a quick, friendly hug.

"Oh, he's fine. You know how he is. One minute, his mind is full of brilliance, and, the next, he's gotten caught up in the next videogame-of-the-week." Jason smiled. "But, what can I do?"

Maura chuckled. "I'm glad to hear he's doing better." She glanced around to find Jane a few steps back watching the scene unfold. She waved the tall brunette over, and waited until the detective was standing by her side. "James, this is Detective Rizzoli. She and I would like a table somewhere out of the way, please."

"Oh," he gave her a knowing look, "I'm sure we can accommodate that."

"Not that kind of out of the way, James," she rebuked him through a sigh. "Please stop."

"I just want you to be happy, Maura. Forgive me for being hopeful." He gave her an apologetic shrug. "How about the table in the back corner? Will that do?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

He handed two menus to a server standing nearby, gave instructions, and the two women followed the server to a table at the very back of the mid-sized room full of well-dressed patrons conversely quietly at their respective tables.

As they sat down, Jane let out a grunt, shifting again as her eyes swept the room. "Fancy," she commented wearily.

"Not really," Maura replied, taking the menu and giving her thanks to the server. "They have a lovely beef entrecôte that you might like, and I also highly recommend the pheasant and foie gras pie. It's a delightful twist on a chicken pot pie."

"Yeah…" Jane let out a long sigh while she glanced over the menu. Much to her relief, the food descriptions were in English. However, there wasn't a price next to anything, which told her she probably didn't want to know how much this meal was about to cost. She frowned, torn between not wanting to mooch off ofsomeone and not wanting to hurt the other woman's feelings, but she didn't feel right about allowing Maura to pay for her if this meal was going to be that expensive.

"Is something wrong?" The doctor's voice cut through Jane's thoughts, causing her to glance up from the menu. "Is there nothing that looks appetizing to you?" Maura started to pout. "I really thought there'd be something…"

"No, it's not that. That beef encounter whatever thing you said looks good. It's just," again, Jane sighed. She felt so awkward and out of place that she was having a hard time even finding the right words to make coherent sentences. "There are no prices on this menu, Maura."

"Really?" With honest surprise on her face, the older woman looked back to the menu. "Oh, so there's not. I'd never noticed before."

"Yeah, see, normally the thing is, if there aren't prices on the menu and you have to ask how much something costs, then you probably shouldn't be ordering it to start with." Carefully, Jane put the menu down, trying not to tip over her water glass. "I don't think I can let you buy me dinner here, Maura. It's too expensive.

"Nonsense," the doctor shot back. "I invited you here, and it's my treat. If I couldn't afford it, Jane, we would have gone elsewhere. Trust me, its fine. You shared a place you enjoy going when we went to the Robber, and I wanted to do the same for you in turn." Her voice softened, eyes pleading for the other woman to allow her to do this thing, to treat her. "Please don't think of this in terms of money. Please think of this in terms of… of…" She deeply frowned, shaking her head in uncertainty. "I'd like to say friendship, but I don't believe we're that far along, though I would like to be."

"But, Maura, friends don't let friends pay a tab that's big enough to be a car payment," Jane countered. "Really, I'd been good with a burger somewhere. You didn't have to go to all this trouble and expense."

"It's neither," the doctor said, shifting uneasily before adding a bit quieter, "for me." She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm not trying to impress you or buy your friendship, and, if that is how this appears, then I'm sorry. That was not my intention. This is a place in which I'm comfortable, and I wanted to share it with you as you shared the Robber with me. If you're too uncomfortable to remain here, then we can leave."

Jane seemed to consider the offer for a long moment before reaching forward and picking the menu back up. "So," she flipped through the pages, "do they serve snails here, too, or what?"

Maura seemed to breathe again. "Not here, but, if you're interested in the dish, I know a place…"

"Nope, I'm good, thanks." Jane set the menu down again and smirked. "Think they'll give me ketchup for my beef whatever?"

The doctor blanched. "Well… I suppose they would…"

The brunette laughed. "Don't worry, Maura, I'll save the crude American dining choices for the Robber." She winked. "I'm only a little uncouth as I look."

"You are just full of surprises, aren't you, Detective?" Maura shook her head, a small smile playing on her face as she began to relax again. "Shall we order?"

Jane nodded, taking a sip of her water and leaning back to watch Maura in her element and consider if this friendship thing was going to work with the other woman.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry these updates are so sporadic. If you're still bothering to read this given my weird and untimely updates, thank you.<strong>

**For those asking, yeah, I think I'll pull this into an early romance. It's a bit AU on the timeline anyway because, in both the books and the show, Maura doesn't start working with Jane until after the events with The Surgeon, and this is before the Surgeon. On the show, Maura meets Jane when Jane is in Vice. In the books, they meet about a year after the incident with the Surgeon. Anyway, I hope that clarifies where I hope to go with this.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Thanks for dinner," Jane said with a smile as she slid out of the passenger's side of Maura's car. "For a French place, it wasn't so bad."

"It was my pleasure," the other woman offered with a smile. "I had a lovely time."

"Yeah, it was fun, especially when the waiter got all sideways because I ordered ketchup," Jane replied with a wink as she bent over to look in through the still open door.

"I'm not sure I agree with that, but, overall, I can't say it was an unenjoyable evening." The doctor gave an amiable shake of her head. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Not unless we meet up somewhere." At the confused look she received, Jane shrugged. "Tomorrow is Saturday."

"Oh, so it is!" Maura blushed slightly. "I'd forgotten."

The brunette gave a little shrug. "No biggie. I do it all the time."

"However," the doctor pulled her purse from its spot in the car and took out a small card, "if you decide you'd like to see that movie we spoke about earlier this evening and want company," she handed the card over, "I'd be happy to go with you."

Jane took the card and glanced over it, noting Maura's personal cell, home number, and home address printed neatly on the card. "Oh, yeah, I'll… uh, I'll let you know." She found herself giving the other woman an almost shy smile. "Thanks, and thanks again for dinner."

"Of course," Maura replied a bit more sheepishly. "Feel free to text or call me."

"Yeah, okay," the detective said with an awkward nod. "I'll… um, I'll talk to you later, then, I guess."

"Have a good night, Jane," Maura replied as the detective hastily closed the Mercedes' door and took off to her own car, clutching the card in her right hand and her keys in the other.

* * *

><p>"GOD!" Jane's hand was on her gun before she could even think. "Ma, what the hell are you doing here?"<p>

Angela held her hands up in innocence. "What? I can't want to see my beautiful daughter?"

The detective dropped her hand and firmly shut her door. "So you want something."

"Janie, why do you have to be like that?" The elder woman motioned to the counter. "I brought your favorite, homemade baked ziti."

"Now I _know_ you want something," her daughter said with a snort as she put away her weapon and shield. "I already ate, by the way."

"Really?" Angela narrowed her eyes. "What did you eat? Was it a bag of Cheese-Its? Because, if it was, I've already told you…"

"No, Ma, it wasn't a bag of Cheese-Its." Walking past her mother, Jane swung into the kitchen to grab a bottle of beer from the fridge. "I went out with a friend to a French place near the station." She popped the top and took a swig, shrugging at her mother's incredulous expression. "It was good."

"A friend?" Angela raised an eyebrow. "Who took you to a French place?"

"Yeah." Jane took another swig before setting the bottle down to pull off her jacket and walk to the bedroom. "So, really, Ma, why are you here?"

Her mother frowned and crossed her arms, following her daughter to the bedroom. "I was talking to Dana Deitrick today, and…"

"No, Ma," Jane quickly interrupted. "Not interested."

"Come on, Janie! Her son is a nice boy, and he's a dental hygienist." Angela dropped her arms to her hips. "Would it kill you to at least give him a chance? Dana said she and Chris would meet us for lunch tomorrow." She narrowed her eyes at the detective. "Wear something nice."

"Can't," Jane replied with a haughty expression. "I already have plans."

"Drinking beer while watching _Law & Order_ reruns isn't a plan, Jane," Angela scolded.

"Not _those_ plans. I'm going to watch a movie with the friend I went to dinner with tonight." The younger woman gave a clearly unapologetic shrug. "Sorry, can't go."

Angela narrowed her eyes, watching as her daughter moved about the room to change. "Okay, who is this 'friend?' Is it a guy? Jane, are you dating someone and you didn't tell me?"

"No," Jane shot back in exasperation. "She's a friend from work." Dropping her boots down beside her bed she flopped backwards to stare up at the ceiling. "I can have friends, you know."

"And she took you to a French bistro tonight?" Angela walked over to look down at her daughter, giving her a hard stare.

"Yeah because we went out to eat at the Robber the other day, and I paid, so, you know, she picked up the tab for this place." Slowly closing her eyes, Jane took in a deep breath. "Ma, can't you just let me have my personal to myself? I mean, why do you have to keep butting in? I don't want to date Chris Deitrick. The man's an ass. In high school, he used to try to peg me with water balloons filled with Kool-Aide." She sighed. "I don't want to date an asshole, okay? Eventually, I'll find someone, and," she sat up, pushing from the bed to grab the stack of clothes she'd gathered, "if I don't, _I'm_ okay with that. A person can be perfectly happy keeping their own company."

"And having friends?" Angela shook her head slowly.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" The lanky brunette started for the bathroom. "Look, it was a long week, and I just want to take a hot shower and go to bed. Can we argue about this later?"

"You know I just want you to be happy," Angela offered, the edge finally off her voice.

"I know, Ma, but forcing me to date some sleazy guy with a gross job isn't the way to make it happen," he daughter replied in a less irritated tone. "I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay, sweetie," her mother said as she gave up the fight. "I'll lock up on my way out."

"Thanks, Ma."

* * *

><p><em>Text from UNKNOWN. <em>Maura stared at her cell. Who could possibly be sending her a text at 11:30 at night? She frowned, trying to remember if any of her beneficial friends were in town, but she couldn't think of any of which she was aware.

Sighing, she opened the message and smiled.

_Hey, this is Jane. I hope I'm not waking you up or something, but I was wondering if you still wanted to catch that movie tomorrow._

Maura felt giddy. The detective had actually reached out to her. It was exciting. She might truly gain a real friend. Quickly, she taped out a reply.

_Of course. What time and where would you like to meet? _

She held her breath, waiting for a response, which came swiftly.

_Not sure. Want to grab lunch first and then see when the next showing is? _

The doctor frowned. She didn't care for not having a solid plan, but she wanted to get to know the other woman better. A compromise was in order.

_Why don't we take an early lunch? Would 11:30 be okay with you?_

The reply was so rapid, it took Maura by surprise.

_Yeah, that'd be great. I need to run by Fred's to grab some oil. Would you be okay with going with me, or do you just want to meet up wherever for lunch?_

Fred's? Who or what was Fred's, and what kind of oil? Maura pursed her lips in thought. Would she seem too needy if she agreed to go with Jane to this Fred's place? Of course, Jane wouldn't have made the offer if she hadn't wanted the company, or was Jane simply being polite? Maura sighed. Social interaction were too complicated without being able to hear voice intonation and see macro facial expressions.

_I'd be happy to accompany you. _She read her message and deleted it. She tried again. _I'm okay with going with you, but who is Fred?_

She hit send before she could second guess herself again. The next reply took a bit longer, which made her think she may have been too quick to take the offer to go to Fred's.

_He's a place. Fred's is where most of us go to get our personal weapons serviced and stuff. I need some gun oil for my off-duty piece. _

Maura rolled her eyes at herself. Of course that made sense. Before she could reply, Jane sent another message.

_If being around guns makes you uncomfortable, I understand, by the way. It's cool if you want to meet up._

The doctor smiled. She hadn't expected the younger woman to be that considerate.

_I'm okay with that, Jane. Would you like for me to pick you up or the reverse?_

Maura felt excited that she might get to see where Jane lived. She found she was suddenly very interested in anything she could learn about the other woman. However, her excitement was cut short by the next reply.

_I'm never going to turn down a ride in that car, but can you pick me up at the station? I have to run some paperwork by there early in the AM._

Baby steps, Maura told herself. The last thing she wanted to do was intrude on Jane's personal space too much or too soon. She really wanted to be the other woman's friend; she didn't want to scare her off.

_That will be fine, Jane. I'll see around 11:45 tomorrow morning?_

She let out a relieved sigh at the reply, thankful she'd said the right thing.

_Sounds good. I'll see you then._

With a bright smile, the doctor saved Jane's number in her phone and headed to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.


End file.
